1. Books for Ages and Stages (Middle School-Ages 12, 13, and 14

2. CharacteristicsWide variation in physicaldevelopment;both boys and girls reachpuberty by age14.Developing sex drive;intense interest insexuality and world ofolder teens. 3. ImplicationsBooks provide insight into feelings concerns.Guidance needed to balance students desire for frankcontent with lack of life experience. 4. CharacteristicsSelf-concept continues togrow.Developing a sense ofidentity is important. ImplicationsBooks help students exploreroles rehearse journey toidentity.Many stories basedon myth of the hero. 5. CharacteristicsPeer group becomesincreasingly influential.Relationships with family arechanging. 6. ImplicationsConcerns about friends and families reflected in books.School should provide chance to share books and responses withpeer group 7. CharacteristicsNew aspects of egocentrismlead to imagining self ascenter of others attentionand feeling ones ownproblems are unique.ImplicationsStudents begin to enjoyintrospection; may identifywith characters who areintense or self-absorbed 8. CharacteristicsCognitive abilities areincreasingly abstractand flexible, but notconsistently so.New capacity to reason fromimaginary premises,manipulate symboliclanguage, and makehypothetical judgments. 9. ImplicationsStudents read more complex stories, mysteries, and highfantasy that call for complex logic; enjoy science fiction andhigh adventure.Metaphor, symbols, and imagery are understood at adifferent level. 10. CharacteristicsAble to apply ideas ofrelativity to questions ofvalues; girls might see moralissues differently than boysdo.ImplicationsStudents need discussiontime to negotiate meanings instories that pose moraldilemmas 11. CharacteristicsSensitive to great complexityin human feelings andrelationships. 12. ImplicationsStudents seek richer and more complex stories. 13. CharacteristicsCumulative effects ofdevelopment and lifeexperience produce widevariation among individuals inabilities and interestsImplicationsReading ability and interestsin one class may range fromearly elementary to adult. 14. Presented by Jamie Balashek (Materials re-presented from the Agesand Stages Pages byhuckagesstages.pdf